Wespazjan (Vespasian) Kochowski (

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

: Nieczuja) (1633 in Gaj, a village which no longer exists, near Waśniów in Sandomierz Land – June 6, 1700 in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula, Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland un ...

) was one of the most noted

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

s and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...

s of

Polish Baroque The Polish Baroque lasted from the early 17th to the mid-18th century. As with Baroque style elsewhere in Europe, Poland's Baroque emphasized the richness and triumphant power of contemporary art forms. In contrast to the previous, Renaissance sty ...

, the most typical representative of the

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...

Sarmatism Sarmatism (or Sarmatianism; pl, Sarmatyzm; lt, Sarmatizmas) was an ethno-cultural ideology within the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was the dominant Baroque culture and ideology of the nobility () that existed in times of the Renai ...

Life

Kochowski was associated with

Małopolska Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska ( la, Polonia Minor), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed ...

throughout his life. His parents were Jan (John), a middle rank nobleman ('' szlachcic''), and Zofia (Sophie), née Janowski. He studied at the Nowodworski College, in

. During the next ten years, he fought as a Polish winged hussar with

Cossack The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

s, Muscovy and Swedish (he took part, among others, in the

battle of Beresteczko The Battle of Berestechko ( pl, Bitwa pod Beresteczkiem; uk, Берестецька битва, Битва під Берестечком) was fought between the Ukrainian Cossacks, led by Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky, aided by their Crimean Ta ...

). In 1660 he came back to paternal Gaj, but he had to move to

Goleniowy Goleniowy is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Szczekociny, within Zawiercie County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately east of Szczekociny, north-east of Zawiercie, and north-east of the regional ...

near

Szczekociny Szczekociny () is a town on the Pilica river, in Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland, with 3,612 inhabitants (2019). Even though Szczekociny administratively belongs to the Silesian Voivodeship, it is part of historic region of Lesser Polan ...

Kraków Land The Kraków Land, also known as the Cracow Land, was a land (administrative subdivision) of Poland in the Middle Ages.Jan Długosz: ''Insigniorum clenodiorum Regis et Regni Polonie descriptio''. In: Jan Długosz: ''Insignia seu Clenodia Regis et ...

. His first publication was a

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meaning ...

entitled ''Kamień świadectwa wielkiego w Koronie Polskiej senatora niewinności'' (''The Stone of Testimony of the Innocence of the Great Senator of Polish Kingdom'') in the defence of Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski. In 1668 he published his first volume, ''Różaniec Najświętszej Panny Maryi'' (''The Rosary of Holy Virgin Mary''), which considers each secrets of

rosary The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or ...

. During that time, Kochowski was involved in political life (regional

council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

s, state

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

s, local

office An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific ...

s), gaining large respect among the nobility. He was even the podżupnik (administrator) of huge salt mines in Wieliczka near

. In 1674 he published his first masterpiece — '' Niepróżnujące próżnowanie'' (''Not idling idleness''). This is a collection of several hundreds verses, divided in four books of

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a " libretto" and their writer, ...

, one book of epodes and two books of

epigram An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word is derived from the Greek "inscription" from "to write on, to inscribe", and the literary device has been employed for over two mill ...

s. He showed the variety of topics, feelings, stylistic figures and versification forms. He expressed the care of

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...

, praised its triumphs, criticised its weaknesses, encouraged compatriots to defence it; he glorified life in the country and his paternal region, thanked

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

for looking for him and also joked at many ordinary situations in life. In 1681 Kochowski also wrote two religious poems: ''Chrystus cierpiący'' (''Suffering Christ''), which laments the Passion of Our Lord, and ''Ogród panieński'' (''Virgin's Garden''), which explains the titles of Our Lady. During the

reign A reign is the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation (e.g., Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Andorra), of a people (e.g., the Franks, the Zulus) or of a spiritual community (e.g., Catholicism, Tibetan Buddhism ...

John III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( pl, Jan III Sobieski; lt, Jonas III Sobieskis; la, Ioannes III Sobiscius; 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobi ...

he turned towards

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

. In 1683 he wrote ''Annales Poloniae ab obitu Vladislai IV'' (''The

Annals Annals ( la, annāles, from , "year") are a concise historical record in which events are arranged chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record. Scope The nature of the distinction between ann ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

from the

Death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

of Ladislas IV''), commonly called '' Klimaktery'' ('' Climacters''). This is the

of the

under kings

John II Casimir John II Casimir ( pl, Jan II Kazimierz Waza; lt, Jonas Kazimieras Vaza; 22 March 1609 – 16 December 1672) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1648 until his abdication in 1668 as well as titular King of Sweden from 1648 ...

and Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki. Kochowski had used the

information Information is an abstract concept that refers to that which has the power to inform. At the most fundamental level information pertains to the interpretation of that which may be sensed. Any natural process that is not completely random, ...

from many

witness In law, a witness is someone who has knowledge about a matter, whether they have sensed it or are testifying on another witnesses' behalf. In law a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, e ...

es,

document A document is a written, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of non-fictional, as well as fictional, content. The word originates from the Latin ''Documentum'', which denotes a "teaching" o ...

s and his own

experience Experience refers to conscious events in general, more specifically to perceptions, or to the practical knowledge and familiarity that is produced by these conscious processes. Understood as a conscious event in the widest sense, experience involv ...

s and he had done it so well. This

book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical ...

is one of the main sources for the

old Polish The Old Polish language ( pl, język staropolski, staropolszczyzna) was a period in the history of the Polish language between the 10th and the 16th centuries. It was followed by the Middle Polish language. The sources for the study of the ...

. In 1683 Kochowski took part in the

battle of Vienna The Battle of Vienna; pl, odsiecz wiedeńska, lit=Relief of Vienna or ''bitwa pod Wiedniem''; ota, Beç Ḳalʿası Muḥāṣarası, lit=siege of Beç; tr, İkinci Viyana Kuşatması, lit=second siege of Vienna took place at Kahlenberg Mo ...

as ''historiographus privilegiatus'' (the privileged

); a position granted to him by king

Jan III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( pl, Jan III Sobieski; lt, Jonas III Sobieskis; la, Ioannes III Sobiscius; 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobie ...

, an admirer of his historian skills. Next year he published the official relation from that – ''Commentarius belli adversus Turcas'' (''

Memoirs A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...

from the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

against Turks''). He also tried to make the national

epos The point of sale (POS) or point of purchase (POP) is the time and place at which a retail transaction is completed. At the point of sale, the merchant calculates the amount owed by the customer, indicates that amount, may prepare an invoice f ...

, but he managed to write only one

canto The canto () is a principal form of division in medieval and modern long poetry. Etymology and equivalent terms The word ''canto'' is derived from the Italian word for "song" or "singing", which comes from the Latin ''cantus'', "song", from the ...

, edited as ''Dzieło Boskie albo Pieśni Wiednia wybawionego'' (''The Work of God or Songs of Liberated Vienna'', also in 1684. The last, most original and interesting piece of Kochowski was ''Trybut należyty wdzięczności wszystkiego dobrego Dawcy, Panu i Bogu albo Psalmodia polska za dobrodziejstwa Boskie dziękująca'' (''The Appropriate Gift of Gratefulness for the Giver of Everything Good, Lord and God, or Polish

Psalmody The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

, Thanking for the God's Benefits'') from 1695, usually called simply '' Psalmodia polska'' (''The Polish Psalmody''). It distinguishes itself, on one hand, by the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...

stylization, and on the other hand, by the change of point of view from

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

to Pole, from

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

, from

ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cov ...

person to

modern Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...

one. There are mixed 14 private and 22 public

psalm The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...

s. It tells about the

expiation Propitiation is the act of appeasing or making well-disposed a deity, thus incurring divine favor or avoiding divine retribution. While some use the term interchangeably with expiation, others draw a sharp distinction between the two. The discus ...

and the God's mercy, moderation of greeds and believing in the

providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

(''złota mierność'' – ''the golden mean''), special role of

in the

world In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

(''antemurale christianitatis'' – ''the

bulwark Bulwark primarily refers to: * Bulwark (nautical), a nautical term for the extension of a ship's side above the level of a weather deck * Bastion, a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification The Bulwark primarily refer ...

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

'') and the superiority of Polish

political system In political science, a political system means the type of political organization that can be recognized, observed or otherwise declared by a state (polity), state. It defines the process for making official government decisions. It usually comp ...

(''złota wolność'' – ''the golden

liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

''). '' Psalmodia polska'' is recognized as one of the main

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

s of

and the best synthesis of

. In 1658 Kochowski married Marianna (Marianne) Misiowska. They had a son, Hieronim Franciszek (Jerome Francis), as late as 1674. After the

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

of Marianna in 1677 he married rich widow Magdalena (Madeline) Frezer. In 1696 she also died. He was the best friend of Jan Gawiński, who was also a good

. His friends were also Stefan Bidziński (a well-known

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' deri ...

), Hieronim Komornicki (

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. Th ...

of Święty Krzyż) and Pakosław Lanckoroński (a

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

). Kochowski was very popular in his time. He was also very popular in the last period of

partitions Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of ...

and between the Wars. Last time he is more and more esteemed again.

Works

#Wespazjan Kochowski, ''Utwory poetyckie. Wybór'', opr. Maria Eustachiewicz,

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, r ...

Warszawa Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

, 1991 (

Biblioteka Narodowa The National Library ( pl, Biblioteka Narodowa) is the central Polish library, subject directly to the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland. The library collects books, journals, electronic and audiovisual publica ...

, seria I, number 92) #Wespazjan Kochowski, ''Lata potopu: 1655-1657'', tł. Leszek Kukulski, opr. Julian Krzyżanowski, Adam Kersten,

, 1966 #Wespazjan Kochowski, '' Psalmodia polska'',

, 2003 #Wespazjan Kochowski, ''Wybór wierszy'',

, 2003 #Wespazjan Kochowski, ''Poezje wybrane'', opr. Halina Kaszprzakówna, Jerzy Starnawski,

, 1977 #Wespazjan Kochowski, '' Niepróżnujące próżnowanie ojczystym rymem na liryka i epigramata polskie rozdzielone i wydane'', opr. Wacław Walecki,

, 1978 #Wespazjan Kochowski, '' Dzieło Boskie albo Pieśni Wiednia wybawionego'', opr. Marian Kaczmarek,

, 1983 #Wespazjan Kochowski, ''Pisma wierszem i prozą'', wyd. Kazimierz Józef Turowski,

, 1859 (jedyne pełne wydanie jego polskich poezji)

References

''The Polish Psalmody'' in Polish and English with comments
in

Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...

Wespazjan Kochowski
in

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...

External links

Works by Wespazjan Kochowski
in digital library Polona {{DEFAULTSORT:Kochowski, Wespazjan 1633 births 1700 deaths 17th-century Latin-language writers Baroque writers 17th-century Polish historians Polish male non-fiction writers 17th-century Polish nobility 17th-century Polish philosophers Polish poets Polish male writers 17th-century male writers

Life

Works

See also

References

Further reading

External links